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Insects in my Apartment? 2015/5/28 08:03
I have wanted to visit Japan for a very long time. Within the next five years, I may finally have my opportunity. I am attending college for IT and after I am finished, I was thinking of applying for work in either Tokyo or Osaka. As much as I want to go and live in Japan for a while, I am extremely terrified of insects. (Seriously, I have trouble with the extremely small and completely harmless house spiders one very rarely might encounter here in Canada.) If I don't have arachnophobia I don't even know what you'd call it. I am curious to know if I would ever encounter something like a Huntsman Spider or a Mukade in my apartment. (If I am to go, I do not intend to be staying in an old building.) It will not relieve me if I am told bites are not deadly, I just can't handle something like that regardless of whether or not it will truly hurt me. I've just never had to deal with anything like it before in my life, which is likely why it frightens me so much. Perhaps Japan is not for me? I have also been told regardless of what I do, cockroaches will enter my apartment often.
by R (guest)  

Re: Insects in my Apartment? 2015/5/28 12:01
I am curious to know if I would ever encounter something like a Huntsman Spider or a Mukade in my apartment.

Probably not in the city, but it is entirely possible. It is also possible to encounter cockroaches wherever you are in the country.
by yllwsmrf rate this post as useful

Re: Insects in my Apartment? 2015/5/28 13:25
I don't know about Japan in particular, but I would imagine seeing small insects (spiders, cockroaches, ants) inside buildings would occur at some point anywhere in the world! If you were living in a city, you would probably see them as often as you do now.

A bigger problem for someone with your fear would be the Japanese giant hornet. It is mostly confined to rural areas, but they are (very) occasionally seen in suburbs of cities. I don't mean or want to scare you - you should absolutely go to Japan if it is your dream and you are able - but you should be aware of them, as they are not like normal hornets or wasps.

Good luck with your move!
by sq (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Insects in my Apartment? 2015/5/28 17:32
Is this serious? I don't want to be insensitive but the OP is speaking as if Japan is some special or unique place where there are insects.

There are insects in every place in the world. I'm from a rural place in the USA, now I live in Osaka. I don't see insects as often in my home in Japan as I used to in the USA, but you do see them from time to time.

House spiders, ants , mosquitos, small (individual) cockroaches, flies, moths and bees are all uncommonly found everywhere. If they don't get inside your house, then you will see them outside anyways, even in big cities.

In summer, get used to hearing cicadas that are everywhere, and when they die (as they quickly do), their corpses litter the streets, and their little cocoons are everywhere in bushes and trees.

Mukade centipedes can be seen in places like parking lots once in awhile, though I've never seen one near my house.

Again, it's not like this is an everyday thing, but all of these things are seen uncommonly. I might find a bug in my house everyday for 4 days in a row, then not see one for 3 weeks or something.
by Mr.Bolo (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Insects in my Apartment? 2015/5/28 18:41
I don't want to be insensitive but the OP is speaking as if Japan is some special or unique place where there are insects.

I disagree. I think the op is asking a fair question as they are asking about very specific Japanese bugs that have some notoriety for surprising people in their homes. I would be asking the same things if I was in her shoes and had a bug intolerance as strong as she describes.
by yllwsmrf rate this post as useful

Re: Insects in my Apartment? 2015/5/28 19:42
If you live in a high building apartments with above floor, you won't see much insects there, but, lower floor or in town houses you will see them.
by tokyo friend 48 rate this post as useful

Re: Insects in my Apartment? 2015/5/28 23:46
I'm afraid mukade and many other insects are also commonly seen in the cities where I'm used to living in.

That said, I notice that people who live in a "manshon" condo, on the 3rd floor or higher, not surrounded by nature, do not cook much or at least keep the place very clean and tidy, do not see insects in their homes, even if they live with cats, have a neighbor with a huge garden, and keep their windows open most of the time.

But I can't really assure a no-insect life just because you live on the top floor. I used to live on the 10th floor and (warning!) our mosquito screen would turn green from the insects from the farm across the road. I've also lived in the 3rd floor of a new concrete condo in a city residential area and (warning!) had roaches and mosquitos coming in all the time.

By the way, I can also understand what the OP is trying to say. If you are used to living in areas as dry as southern California, you don't see many insects inside your house, even in old ones with big yards. But I have to say that you do get used to it once you start living in Japan. Actually, you might get fewer insects by living in very cold regions in Japan.
by Uco (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Insects in my Apartment? 2015/5/29 10:58
I can relate. I had/have a phobia of insects. I use present and past tense because it's still an issue but I have been able to work on it. I attended a phobia workshop that enabled me to be a bit more rational about it, if you get the chance to do this I say do try it. Even if you have to leave it's worth a try. That aside, insects is still a big thing for me and is something I still have to factor in and is a big issue when going places.

So as a bug phobe who has been to Japan I will be completely honest and say yeah you'll see stuff. I never saw roaches indoors, but I saw plenty outside. They're kind of common I'm afraid and I have a bigger fear of beetle things, but apart from one incident where one landed on me and it was swiftly dealt with without me hitting panic point, I can't say it was a major issue. We were in some forest areas, one where it was raining fuzzy caterpillars from the trees, and I did see a couple (small) centipedes there too. I think I saw one tiny spider the whole time and that was in a web outside. I heard cicadas but never saw any and tended to avoid walking under trees when I could hear them, there were some biggish moths but again not bothering me. The only thing I ever saw indoors was a house centipede, and those things freak me out, not gonna lie. It was taken care of by the ryokan owners where we were staying.

I was on a tour so we were moving all the time, I'm not sure how it would be in an apartment. Realistically you'd have to say something will pop up at some point, but I honestly can't say it would be much worse than what you'd encounter at home or that frequent. I've seen more things in Florida than I did in Japan being totally honest. Try not to get sucked into the hype of what you see or read around the internet. That's very immersive in a negative way and is not true reality. People didn't think I'd cope there for this reason but I did, and I can't tell you how much of a positive boost it was! I'm going back this weekend so can't be that bad! I'd suggest a visit to check it out and see how much of an issue you really think it will be cos I bet it's nowhere near as bad as you are thinking. From one bug phobe to another, don't let it stop you going, you'd be missing out on so much amazing!
by Carenza rate this post as useful

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